USA: California fires show how precarious comms can be in a crisis, underline importance of response planning

An interesting article from the Desert Sun last week explores how some resident of Northern California were warned to evacuate before the fire got close – but many were not. Mobile phone networks were impacted as fires raced through the region. In some areas, emergency services called people at home to warn them to evacuate. Some firemen went door to door. And some people realised it was time to leave when the smoke filled their homes and the sound of sirens drew closer and closer.

If you or your clients travel to areas that are at risk of fire, make sure you have a fire-proof plan in place.

How do you know when to evacuate from a wildfire? Not everyone gets the message in California alert system

Napa County, where two deaths have been reported, used reverse 911 calls this week to let residents know that cellphone service was being affected by the fires, a county spokesperson said. The county is also sending out evacuation alerts through a text-message service called Nixle. The number of people signed up for the alerts jumped from 28,000 on Sunday to nearly 80,000 on Monday, the county spokesperson said.

Sonoma County uses Nixle, too. The county also offers emergency notifications through SoCoAlert, which as of June had just 10,557 users in a county of a half-million people.

Look up destination

In a shifting and uncertain world, Safe Travels Magazine offers an open source security briefing for people who want to know a little more before they travel.
Please note: we recommend you ALWAYS check with your nation's travel advisory before you travel abroad.